Is technology making us stupid essay sample

Technology plays an extremely important role in today’s world. Some people hold the opinion that technology makes us stupid. However, others voice the opposite view that technology makes us smarter. Nicholas Carr, Steven Johnson, and Daniel T. Willingham all show their viewpoints on technology in their articles. Carr feels the Internet negatively affects the way our mind works.

On the other hand, Johnson and Willingham feel that technology impacts our life positively because it increases our ability to think and enhances our sense of awareness. From my point of view, I agree more with the latter. I believe technology brings conveniences to meet both our daily life needs and academic needs. It provides us with opportunities to develop our critical thinking and cognition skills.

At the same time, it challenges us to develop healthier mental habits, which will benefit us in a bigger picture. I do admit that the Internet changes the way we search for and absorb information, as well as the way we generate ideas and criticism of what we are exposed to.

In Nicholas Carr’s article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid,” he states that technology is lessening our mental abilities. The article begins with a scene from 2001 A Space Odyssey: “Dave, stop. Stop, will you? Dave. Will you stop, Dave? Dave, my mind is going. I can feel it. I can feel it.” (Carr) The quote, as an evidence of applying Pathos, is very effective because it shows that technology overpowers human thinking and makes human mind an “outdated computer”, which can only be efficient when aided by the technology (Carr). Carr explains how his own reading skills have changed due to the Net. Immersing himself in a book used to be easy, but now he can no longer stay focused on a longer piece of writing. He suggests that the Net seems to be chipping away his capacity for contemplation and concentration. “My mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles”, - states the author (Carr).

His writing is also drawing readers’ attention to the fact that people spend so much time on the Net, that it becomes more a distraction than a useful tool. For example, when I am doing my homework, I get fidgety because texting and checking my Facebook on the Net distracts me much. Carr mentions in the article, “The Web has been a godsend to me as a writer. Research that once required days in the stacks or periodical rooms of libraries can now be done in minutes.” (Carr).

His statement is correct, since the Internet has become such an easy tool for making a research, but it can also make people lazy and ineffective. Taking the responsibility off us as the researches and idea generators and stuffing us with overwhelming, usually redundant, information, the Net has negative effect on our cognition skills and strategies. People do not want to think by themselves anymore because Internet …

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